HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Greencastle-Antrim surges past Waynesboro

WAYNESBORO — The wake-up call at halftime was evidently heard loud and clear.

Trailing an inspired Waynesboro squad desperate for its first win, Greencastle-Antrim asserted its physical prowess throughout the final two quarters of Friday night's varsity football contest at Indian Stadium, eventually overtaking the opponent before pulling away for a 33-16 Mid-Penn Colonial Division victory.

With the win, the Blue Devils' (4-5, 3-3 MPC-Colonial) goal of finishing the season at .500 remains alive heading into next week's finale against James Buchanan. In contrast, the loss drops the Indians to 0-9 (0-6 MPC-Colonial) while marking the 12th straight year Waynesboro has lost the annual matchup with G-A.

A sluggish start by the Blue Devils paired with two well-executed splash plays by the Indians culminated into a 16-11 Waynesboro lead at the half, thus producing the makings of an upset.

Beginning with the first two possessions of the third quarter, the complexion of the contest quickly shifted.

Following a Waynesboro three-and-out, the Blue Devils began finding success on the ground, powering ahead for healthy gains before a 1-yard burst up the middle by Ashtin Byers gave G-A its first lead of the game less than five minutes into the second half.

From here, the Blue Devils never looked back, tacking on two additional touchdowns while outgaining the Tribe 200-66 in yardage over the closing 24 minutes.

"They jumped on us early and we seemed like we were just in a daze," G-A head coach Chuck Tinninis said. "We gave them a wake-up call at halftime. We talked about some blocking schemes that we wanted to do in the second half and it seemed to work pretty well for us."

With Byers' 95 yards headlining G-A's rushing attack, quarterback Spencer Meyers gave the Blue Devils a welcomed sense of balance on offense, finishing 12-of-20 for 141 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore, who was making just his second career varsity start, showed poise in key situations, including a 7-of-9 showing in the second half against an Indian defense that provided a formidable challenge.

"That was the most complete game we played all year," said Waynesboro coach Steve Myers. "We played better defense than we have played in a while. I thought we stopped the run pretty well. I thought if we could stop the run, we could make good things happen."

Early on, that concept unfolded as planned, with the Indians initially setting the tone.

After a fumble recovery by Bradley Lark on G-A's first offensive snap gave Waynesboro great field position, quarterback Nathan Toney capitalized, breaking free on a designed option play en route to a 25-yard touchdown, giving the Indians an 8-0 lead following a 2-point conversion pass to Ben Gsell.

Page 2 of 2 - Stout play by Waynesboro's defensive line, anchored by Zach Stumbaugh, kept G-A's ground game in check, holding the Blue Devils scoreless through the opening quarter.

Presented with little to no running room, G-A leaned on the arm of Meyers to draw even early in the second, with a 13-yard completion to Brae Peck paired with a personal foul penalty on Waynesboro setting up a 12-yard scoring strike to Nathaniel Monn.

Still down two, Meyers connected with Kristian Sheeley on the ensuing 2-point attempt, tying the game at 8.

Unfazed, the Indians immediately responded, as Toney hit Matt Peck in stride on a post pattern for a 64-yard gain, leading to a 6-yard touchdown run by Brett Mohn moments later.

Again electing to go for two, Toney went back to Peck, this time in the right corner of the end zone for a 16-8 Waynesboro advantage.

Starting at their own 40, the Blue Devils answered with a promising drive that resulted in a 34-yard field goal by Justin Hovey, cutting the deficit to 16-11 entering the half.

Unfortunately for the Indians, Hovey's field goal proved to be the first of 25 unanswered G-A points.

Waynesboro's three possessions of the third quarter produced a total of 22 yards, two punts and a turnover on downs, with Byers' 1-yard touchdown and successful 2-point carry sending the Blue Devils into the fourth up 19-16.

Following a 16-yard screen pass from Meyers to Byers on fourth-and-two, Matt Montedoro capped a 14-play, 66-yard drive with a 2-yard trip across the goal line, extending G-A's advantage to 26-16 while taking more than six minutes off the clock.

A fumbled snap by Waynesboro returned to ball to G-A four plays later, with Meyers again dumping a short throw to Byers for 29 yards prior to delivering the dagger with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Peck with 2:11 remaining, resulting in the 33-16 final.

Toney passed for 103 yards but completed only 3-of-17 attempts, with Monn and Sam Sprague each recording an interception off the Waynesboro signal caller.

Mohn paced the Indians on the ground, finishing with 52 yards on 20 carries.

Montedoro added 36 yards for the Blue Devils, but is feared to have suffered a broken wrist in the second half, thus bringing his season to an end.

Defensively, standouts Stumbaugh and Bobby Rider led the effort for their respective sides, with Stumbaugh recording nine tackles for Waynesboro while Rider notched a game-high 10 stops for G-A.

"It's a one-game season for us now," Tinninis said regarding next week's showdown with JB (4-5). "Our goal is to finish .500 and that's what we're shooting for."

The Indians wrap-up their season next Friday at Big Spring (3-6), which is coming off a 53-7 loss to Shippensburg.